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Matt Jefferies created a world. More specifically he created a future starship and much of its related tech. He wasn't the first to actually do this given science fiction film and television had already been around for decades. And he certainly wasn't alone during the 1960s era when there was quite a bit of sci-fi on television and film. But it could be argued that MJ stands above them because what he created resonated in a particular way. His future world, his starship, was portrayed in such a way that it all seemed so believable. And it can be argued that his creation has become the most iconic and most widely recognized piece of science fiction hardware: the starship Enterprise.

Of course, MJ wasn't the only creative force in Star Trek. There were other very talented people who contributed either in ideas or in bringing ideas into physical form. But I think a lot of it took their cue from the conceptual template MJ lay down. It wasn't enough to make a new bit of sci-fi hardware look cool but also to make it seem believable.

There are other popular sci-fi vehicles of that era such as the Jupiter II and the submarine Seaview, but they are largely cool unto themselves. MJ's Enterprise and other designs conveyed so much more "beyond the hull" so to speak. They suggested a whole world, a complete albeit yet to be revealed universe we tuned in every week to catch another glimpse of. Much of this, of course, was due to the writers and creative staff, but the Enterprise and its technology was so representative of all that.

Gene Roddenberry stressed that the audience had to believe in the Enterprise to buy into the future and the stories the show presented. He charged Matt Jefferies to create such an object the audience could near immediately latch onto. And MJ delivered in spades.

This isn't to say others didn't contribute significantly---they most certainly had. Much of the Enterprise's appeal, and in extent the world we saw, was enhanced by how they were presented in terms of lighting, photographing and accompanying music, and additionally by the references spoken by the characters.

But I think there was still something about MJ's approach to design that telegraphed itself to others contributing to what made Star Trek work.

In the 60s, it took a while for me to get used to the look of the ship, because it was so different than everything else seen. The only familiar part was the saucer. Any time I later found a Jefferies sketch of a ship, or a set, I'd study the designs. I even did a 3D model of the main corridor, using that stage blueprint as a guide. Mine wasn't intended to be scale accurate though, and I later used it in my animated parody.

I'm glad they changed that bridge dome. It made the proportions of the ship seem odd.

Getting rid of those silly spikes on the nacelle domes and shrinking the deflector dish were also improvements.

Part of MJ's genius when designing the Enterprise was the "Hornblower effect" -- evoking subtle impressions of an 18th-century sailing vessel on a spacecraft from hundreds of years in the future.

With a bit of imagination, the warp nacelles atop those tall, slender pylons suggest masts and sails. The briefing room's angled bulkheads and curved beams are reminiscent of an old ship's cabin. And why the elevated outer ring of work stations on the bridge? Partly to create visual interest, but also as an excuse to put a railing there.

And then there's the obvious.

__________________“All the universe or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?”

I think Jefferies well understood the requirements of designing a set for film or television, but he managed to design things that managed to transcend those limitations. He obviously went beyond "slapping some paint and blinking lights together" for a sci-fi look. He did it well enough that he's been emulated for decades afterword.

He reasoned out where things were, where things should go and how things supposedly worked even if it was all fictional.

Didn't he design the phaser pistol? That design looks like nothing that had ever preceded it in science fiction in the visual mediums and it's still a very cool and distinctive bit of SF hardware. I'd have loved to see him create an updated version of the phaser rifle for the TOS era.

His design of the Klingon battle cruiser was another inspired work. The adversary's character was instantly telegraphed in this beautifully menacing design. Before the Klingon warship menacing enemies in sci-fi flew simple flying saucers or versions of rocketships like in Flash Gordon. The Klingon ship was a first just as much as the Enterprise was.

I don't think MJ was consciously thinking of 18th century sailing ships when he designed the Enterprise. I've certainly never heard of him alluding to such. GR was the one who used the Hornblower analogy, but I never heard it in relation to MJ's design approach.

Part of MJ's genius when designing the Enterprise was the "Hornblower effect" -- evoking subtle impressions of an 18th-century sailing vessel on a spacecraft from hundreds of years in the future.

Absolutely! Although I'm still in the dark whether Doug Drexler's Star Trek Posterbook article, where "Hornblower Effect" popped up, was an actual Jefferies quote or a personal conclusion of Mr. Drexler (apparently he did interview him at some time when he asked Jefferies about the location of engineering...).

We also have the obvious sailing vessel allusions in the TOS briefing room (support beams) and in the early "Deck 12" location of Kirk's cabin with windows ("Mudd's Women", "The Enemy Within").

What never ceases to amaze me is how Walter Matt Jefferies, despite his strong background in aviation, combined aviatic and maritime elements into something completely new and different.

__________________
"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth" Jean-Luc Picard
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein